Telekenesis!

Ok...I'll be honest, after watching this video, I totally strained myself with my hand over a pen. Sadly, it didn't budge!

hulu

So I've been on the waiting list for the beta test of "Hulu" which is Newscorp (owner of Fox, Myspace, The world...)'s supposed "youtube killer." You'll notice that lot's of content from broadcasters (NBC, FOX, etc) that used to be all over Youtube, has now been pulled for copyright reasons. The reason is, that all those networks have tentitively agreed to meet on the same playground: hulu.

The system delivers decent picture quality (but not anywhere close to ABC's HD player), and it seems pretty smooth. The coolest part is that it allows you to embed content from the site on your own page (in part, or in whole). So here, for your viewing pleasure, is Season 1, Episode 1 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Enjoy!

You are not Machines, You are Not Cattle, You are Men!

Wow. Charlie Chaplin really had something to say didn't he?


To read the transcription of this speech, go here.

Since I'm being Political...

Oh geez, this is so true!


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

But then again...

So I'm sitting here working, and I have today's "Presidential News Conference" on. Some important questions came up...

David Gregory from NBC asked about Israel's recent air strike on a Syrian nuclear site.
...the President had no comment.

A CBS reporter asked about current relations with North Korea, and the state of their weapons program.
...the President had no comment.

Another reported asked about a recent meeting between Mahmud Ahmadinejad and Vladimir Putin, and about any possible alliances that may be made around the Caspian sea region of the world.
...the President had no comment

One reporter from the New York Times asked him to give his own report card on himself on being "reaching across the aisle," after he's slammed the Democrats in congress for not getting bills passed, despite issuing veto threats left and right.
...the President said "I do blame the Congress for not getting bills passed." In other words: Not my fault!

I'm sitting here watching the leader of our country, being asked important questions by our press--and let's not forget what a great privilege it is that our press has the power to speak freely, and keep our leaders in check without worry of persecution--and I see a man with a smirk on his face, who seems proud of himself for not getting caught answering a question.

Honestly, I'm really failing to understand the respect that some people still hold for this man. I respect his office, and I am not even saying that I could do any better. But how can we trust in leadership that refuses to be held accountable on questions that he doesn't like the answer to?

Or is it just that he doesn't know the answers? Has he learned from the past that he's not a smart man? Maybe he'd rather look stupid and not answer a question, than look really stupid and tell us what he really think?

I once heard an interview with Andy Rooney, where he said something along the lines of:

Shouldn't it be the goal of our country to have our President be one of the smartest people in our nation? If so, we have failed miserably.

I am honestly not trying to just slam the man for the sake of it. But I'm sitting here watching him speak, and it honestly makes my skin crawl. He grins just about every time he avoids a question. That little smug grin seems to be the Presidential equivalent of "nah-nah-na-boo-boo!"

Despite the criticism from many of my friends and family, I am still very proud that I did not cast my vote for this man.

I think I'll be a republican again.

I've been pretty sure I was against the party for a while, but this guy reminds me of what it is SUPPOSED to be like. He's got my vote in the primaries. I'm going to donate to his campaign too. I haven't felt strongly about a candidate in a long time (not since Alan Keyes in 2000), but I think this could be what our nation needs, and what the republican party needs at this time.



What do you think?

Radiohead's New Album Cost? It's up to you!

(original post: here)
I should have paid them up front.

I should have given them $10, $15, or $20 just for the simple fact that they're trusting me. Of course, didn't, but I will now...I will go back and pay them for sure.

In case you haven't heard, Radiohead's latest album was released today. It's only avaiable for download online , and the cost is...whatever you want it to be! That's right, when you get to the end of the "checkout" you enter in a price. And of course like a child, I entered: £0.00.

"The recording industry as we know it is surely staring oblivion in the face if it does not quickly and efficiently make amends with it’s customers. We no longer require the shiny plastic discs, we want access with value." (Dave Allen, pambelmoose )

You have to give kudos to Radiohead for trusting the music consumer. They are now operating sans label, but I hope and pray that this dist. method is a success and that labels will take notice of the rewards that come from trusting the consumer. Here comes the part where I preach...

GIVE THEM MONEY! Go to the site, go to the cart, and give them money for the download. Whatever you think is fair. Give them $5, $10, or even $20! Unless of course, you want them to fall on their face, and proove right the old farts at the labels are still panic stricken, and holding onto their DRM with all of their withering strength. If ever the music community had a chance to make a statement, Radiohead has just delivered the podium.

The album, by the way, is wonderful. In perfect Radiohead style, In Rainbows delivers the audiophile's wet-dream of fuzzy analogue instrament sounds, and trippy off-beat rhythms. "Body Snatchers" is the second track and is a toe-tapping post rock anthem that swirls and builds as Thom Yorke's voice peppers the song as only his voice can.

"Nude" and "All I Need" are two examples of slow, dark, downtempo meanderings that remind us of Thom's solo album. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is a simple, upbeat acoustic driven piece that flirts with the historic athem-like style of "Creep," doesn't quite get there for me.

The album ends with a tune that is slow, sparse, and intimate in the begining, but like the album, builds, and swells to a brief climax in the middle, and then slowly fades back down to eventual silence.

Is it the best Radiohead album ever? No. I'd say not. I don't think it has the proggressive brilliance and fluidity of OK Computer, or Amesiac. But nevertheless it delievers for both fans and newbies the unmistakable, impossible to immitate, sound of one of the best group of pioneers in modern rock history. Now they have also become pioneers in music distribution, and I hope they are well rewarded for it!

I'm Not A Good Cook.

How Cool Is This?

I just found out about Deezer.com!

I helped pick music for this...

What do I think?

*Ok, I wrote this over a week ago, and sat on it all week cause I didn't think it was very well written...now I'm too lazy to edit/revise it so I'm just going to puke it up here and you can take it for what it's worth: what I think about health care...

I'm Sick today, so I thought it would be a good day to answer Kyle's challenge and tell you what I think.

What do I think about health care?

I think (this one won't ruffle any feathers) the current health care system sucks. It's great for the rich, and it's oppressive for the poor, or the middle-class who may not have great coverage, and don't have lot's of extra cash laying around.

Free market capitalism says that keeping healthcare in the private sector will keep costs down, because in encourages competition among providers, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies etc. However, this school of thought is inherently based off of making money. In this case, lot's of money. Money that is generated by people getting sick (they'll make money off of me today), or injured. The company with the "best services" at the "best prices" should, in theory make the most money.

I'm a business man--in fact a salesman. My job is to encourage others to spend money with our company. I understand capitalism, and in most respects I am grateful for it. I was also raised as a very conservative Christian family, and I still believe that whenever possible, keeping the government small is the best-case scenario.

{begin tangent}
Today we have loads of programs that are designed to help the poor, the sick, the elderdly, and others who are in need. From welfare to Medicaid, social security to subsidized school lunches...our local, state and federal governents have many branches which attempt to give aid to those in need.

I am theoretically opposed to most of these programs, however I support them in practicality. Let me explain:

During the great depression (for example), FDR put into place lot's of federal work programs, welfare, and social security. His thinking was influenced largely by Keynesian theory which basically says that in economic hardships, the government should go into debt to keep money in people pockets and give the economy a "shot in the arm" so that it can bounce back. Since then, welfare programs and social security have become a staple of our society.

IN THEORY, I would rather not have this type of system, but as I mentioned earlier, given today's US social/economic status--I think it is necessary for all practical purposes.

IN THEORY, I would rather have history reflecting the body of Christ stepping in during the 1930s and sharing it's resources, taking care of the poor, sick, and elderly, and establishing its self as the "staple" of help in our society when it is in need. I was not there, and I don't know exactly what it was like, but I think the "Church" (meaning organized religion) and the "body" (meaning Christian people--whether organized or not) blew it by not helping their friends and neighbors in need. If the resources of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, All of the Church denominations,and so on were pooled together and used wisely, how much could have been accomplished during the Great Depression without federal government intervention?

That seems to be the pattern of most religious organizations in the US...take care of our own first--and if we have time and resources we might think about helping out the neighborhood. I wish that all believers would recognize the importance of community to our faith (and how much Christ stressed to take care of those in need).

IN PRACTICALITY this doesn't work. People are greedy, myself included. I earn a decent income, and have no time spending it on my house, my two cars, my dog, and lot's of entertainment. My wife and I DO make it a priority to give a percentage of our income to charities, but I think that this is not the case. We feel "poor" because often times at the end of the month we realize that we spent more than we made, and we are digging ourselves into debt--like most Americans.

So I must give up on my ideal communal society because I am a greedy person, and I think that most in this country are at least as greedy as me. Which is why I will support government programs that are aimed at helping those in need, because it takes the option out of it. In reality, when we have the option to help the poor, or buy a new car, too many of us choose the car. A government run solution will force us to give a percentage towards "the common good" and while our government has plenty of corruption and bullshit bureaucracy, I still believe in it, and will do my part to vote and voice my opinion, and be involved in politics on a local, state, and federal level.
{end tangent}

While I would love to keep the government out of our health-care system, the current "establishment" who control the health care providers, insurance, and pharmaceutical companies, have proven that this is indeed a profitable industry--the industry of people's misfortunes. And since health care is something that we all need, they have banded together and decided that they can charge whatever they want to charge for their products and services.

I am in favor of a Universal health care system, if it can effectively take profit margins off the "most important" list, and put people's needs (all people--no matter what their race, religion, or economic status) back at the top of that list. It will also need to reform the FDA in a major way. To quote Kevin Trudeau (who is questionably credible), "The FDA does not exist to protect the people, rather it exists to protect the Pharmaceutical companies."

With our present system, the major drug companies have nothing to gain from cures. They have found that prolonging the life of cancer patients is quite profitable. Perhaps a better solution than the proposed "Universal Healthcare System" is at very least a "Not-For profit" system. But I'm not sure how that would work either.

There you go...my disorganized thoughts on health care. Sorry for the randomness.

Those silly Christians

Ok, I'm going to go ahead and come out of the closet. I'm a Christian. I'm not sure what that word has come to mean anymore, but I'll clarify by saying I believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God (and/or a part of God, and/or God) and died as a sacrifice for the sins of all humans. I'm not sure what else I believe as far as theology, or "how do you go to heaven" etc. And I guess none of us will know until we die. But this is what I believe.

Ok, now that I'm "out." I'd like to discuss something here:


Wtf?

Ok Christians. We are supposed to "go into all the nations...and make disciples of all men" right? So what are you thinking when you can't even let someone from a different nation (or in this case a different religion) say a prayer?

I really wish I had something deep or biblical to say about this. But I think it's one of the shittier things I've seen done in the name of Christ lately. And there are some pretty shitty things done in that name.

Seriously people. Grow up.

Health Care Part Deux

Ok, so Kyle "took a sledge hammer to the frame" of my post on health care (by the way Kyle, I'm touched that you read such rubbish as my blog). You can catch up here.

After I had the initial conversation with sis, I did ask a few of my friends who I know in Toronto. I wanted to know if free market cure is really painting an accurate picture of what it's like for Canucks to get treatment or not. One of them (the wife of my friend Steve) emailed me back with this long (but I thought appropriate) response:

"First, the Canadian Healthcare system is by no means perfect. It
tries to fulfill a need to create a decent, level playing field for
everyone, not just the rich. So it doesn't always work perfectly. I
feel sorry for the brain tumor guy, but I would think that there is
probably a better way to go about this. For instance, had he gone to
an emergency department and waited, he probably would have received a
CT scan there that may have detected the tumor that day. You learn
how to work the system to your advantage. His referral to a
neurologist may have been to one Dr. had his GP tried to call every
neurologist in the province, he probably could have been seen by one
if he had travelled a bit.


My life experience with Doctors: Put a dollar value on these things
as you go along and tell me how broke we would have been. We do not
have private medical insurance through Steve's employer.
We have 2 children. I can't even imagine how much that must cost,
just to give birth to them. Even the monthly, then weekly trips to
the OB how much does that cost? Ryan's birth was prolonged and
complicated, he was jaundiced, all of these required additional
treatments and $$$$$
Kira we had a choice to have a midwife. It was brilliant, and I went
home after a few hours.


Ryan has had his elbow dislocate three times. 3 trips to the ER with
doctors seeing him each time.
He has had a small hairline fracture that required a cast. Numerous xrays etc.
Ryan has had inflammation in his left hip called Toxic Synovitis. It
could have been septic, we had to go to Sick Kids to have a blood
test, ultrasound, and xrays and CT to rule it out. IF it was septic
and undetected he could have lost his leg.....it wasn't but, how much
would that have cost us? We did all that in one day.
Kira, so far so good. : )


After I had Ryan I had what they call a "thyroid storm". My thyroid
went massively out of control and I lost 60 pounds in a month and then
it reversed itself and I not only gained weight but began tripping,
slurred speech and my hair was falling out. After testing it was
discovered that I needed daily thyroid meds. No biggie, but lots of
doctors and tests.
Then after Kira I had another storm in which my eyes became crossed
and there was pressure on the cranial nerve. I saw a neurosurgeon
within a couple weeks and an MRI shortly after, at the time we didn't
know if it was a tumor or not. I saw people timely and quickly. I
had CTs and MRIs.
Believe it or not everything eventually worked out OK, once I stopped
breastfeeding and stopped taking my thyroid meds, my body reverted
back to its "normal" state and everything worked out in the end. It
was post-partum thyroid something or other and it worked out in the
end.
Can you imagine the dollar value on that?


Our son Ryan has been diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder and ADHD.
Now, here's where our system does fall off the rails a bit. There are
not very many developmental pediatricians who know how to diagnose
psychological/neurological disorders properly. If you go to a
psychologist, it is not covered by provincial health care. Many of
Ryan's therapies are not covered, so now we are slowly going broke.
Thank god I will be able to go back to work this Sept, so that will
stem the tide a little longer.
We did find a wonderful pediatrician that is covered by OHIP, but
Ryan's additional therapies cost out of pocket.


I cannot imagine having to pay for everything out of pocket, their
yearly check ups, the usual childhood bumps and bruises, etc. I know
what it is like to pay separately, but for everything would be crazy.
Lucky for us Steve does have a good job and does make a decent living,
and we'll catch up in the end. I can't begin to imagine the toll that
it would take on someone working at Walmart?


The point of the Canadian system is that we all put a little bit in
the pot so that everyone can have a decent minimum of heath care
without having to take out another mortgage to do it. It is for the
greater good, for the most benefit for the most people. It is the
idea of a "just society", rather than what can I get out of this for
myself and fuck the guy down the street if he doesn't have a good
enough job to pay for the health care for his family. Mr Brain Tumor
should also go down to Toronto Sick Children's Hospital, and take a
look around. Every one of those kids there has a family that would be
slowly going broke just because little Timmy decided to get luekemia,
think about that one for a while, or a cleft palate.
Yes we pay a lot of taxes, but after the dough you guys just spent on
Iraq, so will you. I'd rather pay for health care than guns to shoot
people in some god forsaken desert.


Oh yeah, Steve's dad just had triple by-pass surgery AND radiation for
prostate cancer. They haven't spent their entire retirement savings
to pay for it. He came out good in the end, but isn't going to have a
heart attack when the bill comes, and at 75 he doesn't have to go back
to work or sell their home and live in some shack to pay for it.


Again, let me be clear. Our system is not perfect, but there has to
be a minimum of care for everyone, to create a decent society. I love
the fact that on one hand you have the huge right-wing religious
influence saying God this and God that, but when it comes to actually
caring about your neighbour, they really don't give a shit.
I guess maybe that's what it is up here. We all put into the pot so
that we can try to care about our neighbours when they are in trouble.


Just in case you think I'm nuts, I did live in Indiana for a year. I
saw my roommate get massive bronchitis and was really in need of some
care, but she wouldn't go because she was from Pennsylvania and her
parents didn't want her to go to the doctor there, but to wait until
she got home so that their insurance wouldn't find out that she was
out of state or some such crap as that. I also had another Canadian
friend who wiped out on his motorcycle, he was not wearing a helmet as
is the perogative in Indiana, and had to get 4 stitches across the
bridge of his nose, it cost his parents over $300US to pay for it.


It ain't perfect but I wouldn't trade it for what YOU'VE got. I
might be willing to try Sweden, or France though. Michael Moore
should look at their systems.


Well, you asked........thanks for asking. Tell your sister not to
believe everything the Republicans tell her.


Oh yeah, the brain tumor guy is the exception, and if he had worked on
it a bit they could have found another solution, like going into the
ER at Toronto Western Hospital (which is a neurological centre) and
wait there, they probably would have seen him before 8 months.
Besides, she says in the video that they are willing to pay but the
gov't wouldn't allow it. She's paying now, so why is she complaining?
4 months for a brain MRI seems too long. I do know of people who
have waited 2 years for knee and hip surgery. They are in a lot of
pain, but still have to wait. It sucks, but it's all we've got right
now.


Americans need to remember that nothing is perfect, but you need to
work for the best solution for all, not the best solution for those
that have enough money."

I guess I could have edited that, but I didn't...because I'm lazy--and I wanted you to hear it straight from the canuck's mouth...not picked a part and worked to my advantage.

Ok, so if we all agree the current system sucks, but we can't agree that Canada style is the answer (or can we?). Can we start the discussion on what might work?

Kyle?

Plane blogging

I'm sitting on a plane in atlanta, on the way to memphis, and i'm bored. So i thought i'd share what happens when your eleven year old brother in law gets a hold of your camera phone...

"Free Market Cure"

I recently received a link to this website: freemarketcure.com.

I did some reading, and watched this video:



I guess it sort of got me thinking so I wrote back to my sis who sent it to me and shared my thoughts. Please read below, and then share yours!

"Yes, aren't we all so glad that sex change operations are covered by
our wonderful healthcare system?


I am going to ask my Canadian friends about this--I really believe
that it's the EXCEPTION, not the rule. (If Michael Moore can find
stories to spin propaganda to his side, can't we agree the the other
side can find stories to spin the story their way?)


And let's keep in mind that close to 100 Million US citizens are on
are on Medicare, or Medicaid, and are dealing with a lot more
paperwork and bureaucracy than our Canadian neighbors.


The sad news it that the "free market" system we have now, has become
monopolized by pharmaceutical, medical, and insurance companies that
are incredibly greedy. That business is NOT about caring for people's
well being, it is simply a very lucrative industry, and they have
recently realized that they can charge whatever they want for health
care, because we the people have no choice but to pay it. It's a
collaborative monopoly, and the "free market capitalism" is failing to
keep costs competitive.


Yes, a centralized health care system would be a DOWNGRADE for every
one of us, along with the rest of the richest 20-30% of US citizens
who are lucky enough to have really good medical coverage by their
employer, or otherwise. However, the rest of the nation is dealing
with Medicare, Medicaid, and HMOs, and Public Hospitals that are well
below par!


So yes, I would be willing to accept a health care plan that might not
be as good as my current plan (emphasis on might), so that others who
are currently dealing with a bureacratic and oppressive system can
have better coverage--not to mention my children and grandchildren
being guaranteed reasonable coverage no matter what their
circumstances may be.


Ok, I suppose if Christy opened this door, I've gone and kicked it off
the hinges--what do the rest of you think?"

Craigsta's Paradise (at the Hello Deli)

(verse 1)
As I walked through the valley of the shadow of the Ed Sullivan Theater, I took a look to my right and realized I was hungry.


Cause I'd been walkin and walkin so long that, even the street rats thought that I needed some food.


There was a hole in the wall (by any standards), and Rupert G was taking orders like you've never ever heard of.


You know I watched how he was talking, and he was walkin
I said "Give me some grub, I'm really hung-gree fool!"


(chorus)
I ate "The Letterman" at Rupert G's and got indigestion.
I ate "the Letterman" you know the mayo had turned but I don't question.


(verse 2)

My sandwich came with some chips, think they were lays, but you know that salty shit's gonna make me crave (some)

A bottle of coca-cola, that's how I rolla.
And didn't even finish, I don't need all those calories!

After I had ordered Rupert asked for cash.
I said "Do you take Discover," he said "Kiss my ass, fool."

So than I dropped a couple Lincolns, he must be thinking
"who is this playa in my store? I've never seen him before?"


(chorus)
I ate "The Letterman" at Rupert G's and got indigestions
I ate "the Letterman" you know the mayo had turned but I don't question.

(bridge)
Why would he, a celebraty,
be so hard working, at this hello deli?

(repeat)

(repeat chorus)

Bill Clinton

I got to sit in on a speech by Bill Clinton yesterday--I think it's a rare privilege to be able to sit in an audience with any world leader, and this was truly memorable.

He spoke on many topics, but the one chunk that has stuck out the most was his take on our current administration's foreign policy (I hope my anonymous reader leaves another comment about how I'm a raving liberal). Here's the gist of what he said:

"All nations should work towards interdependence, not "Globalization" because that has a connotation of economic "Americanization." And with that interdependence, we should be acting together in all things, and act alone only when we are forced to. The Bush administration has said to the world "We are going to act alone to do what we think is best, and we will work together with others only when we are forced to."

That pretty much sums it up mates.

And now...just to prove that I did see him, I'm posting a crappy video from my cell phone. It's wasn't any particularly moving moment, just a random 30 seconds when I thought I should record this somehow.

The Today Show

That's me. That's anne curry.

If you want to see me in live action, you can see the video "True Stories of Infidelity" (sweet story huh?) at the todayshow.com

Anatomy of NYC

It's funny because you walk everywhere here, and since it's a concrete jungle, there are a lot of streets to cross. Those who are dressed more casually will usually stop and wait for the light to change. While those who are in business suits (and in the morning will just about surely have Starbucks in hand) just simply walk across and make the cars wait for them. They are obviously are too important, to wait for silly things like traffic lights.

Last night as I was leaving the "networking party" the group of us who had been chatting (most of them were from Nickolodian/TV land/Nick at Nite/ Nick Jr--and yes, they were all adament that those are different things) and we decided to walk to a pup just outside Time's Square called "The Playwrite (it's on broadway--get it?).

Along with the Nickolodian gang (one of whom looked exactly like John Mayer) were three Russian guys: Ruben, Dennis, and a guy with a name too Russian for me to remember. They work for the Moscow version of Comedy Central, and were a really good time.

I could write more, but you don't really care--you were just reading this far to see if the story went anywhere. What a let down huh?

Times Square

Sorry, no time to be clever...just wanted to post pics.


Times Square


Me, the boss, the other boss.


Those are space ships, floating up and down a spaceship tower.


"Hi I'm a tourist!"

Quickie in NYC.

Provocative title huh? I thought so. So I'm in New York for the Promax Convention. I don't know how much I'll write (not like I write a lot anyway), but there I am. And there's a couple tall buildings.

I really like the city! I want to come back here and spend some time as a "tourist" (I guess). The architecture is amazing, there are people (of all kinds) everywhere, food vendors on the streets (I miss China), and you actually walk to get around!

Hey, anybody have some favorite spots in NYC? Any favorite NY bands? Artists? Writers? Come on...all 5 of you who read. If you've been here before, tell me your favorites. If you haven't been here before, tell me what you imagine would be your favorite (what you've always wanted to see).

Peace and love.
-c

Life Before the Segway

In The Know: Do You Remember Life Before The Segway?

Random Musings on Politics and Mass Email "petitions"...

I got this email today from an Uncle (who I love, but this email made me laugh). My comments are in bold:

Subject: Social Security Changes

It does not matter if you personally like or dislike Bush . You need to sign this petition and flood his e-mail box with e-mails that tell him that, even if the House passes this bill, he needs to veto it.
(this is funny...it doesn't matter how I feel, but I HAVE to sign this "petition???")

It is already impossible to live on Social Security alone. If the government gives benefits to "illegal" aliens who have never contributed, where does that leave those of us who have paid into Social Security all our working lives? (I'm going to try to leave my own political views out of this one)

As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow "illegal" aliens access to Social Security benefits. Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires citizenship for eligibility to that social service.

You can Agree or Delete. Instructions are below. (dear citizens of the USA, I would like to just go ahead and point out that mass emails have absolutely zero legal pull. Did you really think that the Federal Government would change their course because of 729 "signatures" on your email?

PETITION for President Bush :

Dear Mr. President :

We, the undersigned (ignoramuses), protest the bill that the Senate voted upon recently
which would allow illegal aliens to access our Social Security. We demand (yeah!) that you and all Congressional Representatives require citizenship as a prerequisite for social services in the United States .

We further demand that there not be any amnesty given to illegals (they're not people, they're "illegals"), NO free services, no funding, no payments to and for illegal immigrants. We are fed up with the lack of action about this matter and are tired of "paying" for services to illegals! (and we're fed up with all the low cost produce, labor, and other services that require jobs that we refuse to do ourselves because it's beneath us!)

Agree or Delete (what?): Instructions to sign are at the bottom.

1. Mary Takami , Calif.
2. Connie Dodd Calif.
3. Frank Beirau , Calif.
4. Barbara Murray , Calif.
5. Dody Farha , Okla.
6. Woody Farho , Okla
(for your sake, I deleted the other 723 "signatures," including my aunt, uncle, and cousin)

INSTRUCTIONS: If you don't forward the petition and just stop it, we will lose all these names. If you do not want to sign it, please just forward it to everyone you know (umm..."Hi, I don't believe in this, but I think that you have to sign it, no matter how you feel. Thanks, -Craig"). Thank you!

T o add your name, click on "forward" or better yet, "copy and paste" if you know how (this paste isn't sticking to the screen very well). You will be able to add your name at the bottom of the list and then forward it to your friends.

When the petition hits 1,000, send it to comments@whitehouse.com
(www.whitehouse.com most definately NOT an official government site. But You're close, the actual email address is: comments@whitehouse.gov.)

My latest review...

This is what I do now...with my spare time.

Smashing Pumpkins: "Tarantula"
rockworms.com - Wednesday, 23 May 2007

© rockworms.com

Oh and also, I won an autographed picture of Jordin Sparks last night. Thweet huh?

I'm not a big blogger anymore? BUT...

Yeah so,
I guess I've been pretty busy with work, and with rockworms.com. So have you checked it out lately? We're coming right along. I'm excited about those of you who are contributing. God knows it's good to have content that wasn't authored by "craigsanatomy."

But now I have a favor to ask of you...

The way that you get noticed on google, is by having other sites link to you (did you know that?). So I must ask this small favor of you to help boost our google ranking from dead last, to maybe 9,999th. [And I'm a sucky husband because I pay all my attention to this stupid website and not to my beautiful wife.]

So if any of you feel so inclined, feel free to post a link on your blog, your myspace page, your friends myspace pages, etc . You can link to: http://www.rockworms.com

Or you can just post a link with this code:

<a href="http://www.rockworms.com">rockworms.com</a>

Ok peeps. Thanks for the chance to mooch. I'd be happy to return the favor! And I'm always open to feedback on the website. Let me know what you think!
-c

American Idol: Jordin Sparks!

Ok...it feels lame to go from such a serious post to this one, and sorry for two forward in a row--but i don't really have anything to say, so I'll just regurgitate for a while until i find myself!

This is from my close personal friend...who happens to be Jordin Sparks' cousin. I know, I'm kind of a big deal!

Pass this along to anyone and everyone. The more people the better! The bar area will be standing room only and the restaurant will be a little more low key.

Food Specials:

$2 pizza quarter

$3 appetizers (Mini pizzas, wings, nachos, fries, etc...)

Drink Specials

$1.50 well drinks

$2 Miller and Honey Weiss pints

$3 margaritas

$3 Captain Cokes

--Scot

Vote Jordin to the Finale @ The American Idol Sparks Viewing Party

6pm @ Old Chicago in Roseville (SE corner of Hwy 36 and Snelling)

Did you see us on FOX 9 News last week? You won't want to miss the party this time around, she's in the final three! Jordin's family invites you to vote her to the American Idol Finale. Food and Drink specials so cheap we'll have to roll you out the door! The party starts at 6pm on Tuesday at Old Chicago (corner of Snelling and Highway

36).

Bring everyone you know... Jordin needs our votes!

www.officialjordinsparks.com

Pray.

Dear friends and fam,
You know that I'm not a big "prayer chain" person. And certainly not a forward person. But this one truly grips our hearts since a friend and former neighbor of ours, Manish Desai, is facing a very serious prognosis of cancer with the probability of losing his left hand.

Manish and Emily were our neighbors in Pasadena and they are every bit as great as Marshall (our other neighbor) describes them below. He is 31 and they just had their first son Dillan while we lived there in December of 2005.

It's hard to know how to pray, or what to pray, or even why to pray when situations like this come to such wonderful people. But still, I ask only that you do pray, for these total strangers to you. I ask that you plead with God to spare his life, and even to spare his hand.

Read Marshall's email below for the whole story.
-craig

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Marshall Allen
Date: May 8, 2007 1:30 AM
Subject: Urgent prayer request
To:


I'm writing you with a heavy heart, my dear friends and family, after
getting a call from some of our most beloved friends in the world, Manish
and Emily Desai.

Manish has just been diagnosed with a rare and grave form of cancer that's
growing in his left hand. He's only 31, and the prognosis is very bad.
Doctors say the best treatment option is to amputate his hand somewhere
around the forearm, and then put him through six months of chemotherapy.
They say this approach will give him the best chance of surviving, which
they estimate at 60 percent.

I'm writing to urge you to plead with God on behalf of Manish, Emily and
their 18-month-old son Dillan. God can do anything, and our first prayer is
that Manish would be healed if that's God's will. If not that, then we pray
that God will spare his life, even if that means losing his hand.

You know it's bad when amputating your hand is the upside of the equation,
and for Manish this is especially hard since he's left-handed, and he's an
architect. His livelihood and professional dreams are attached to that left
hand, so please pray that God would walk with him emotionally through this
loss, and give him the tenacity to teach himself to do everything he can do
today, but with his right hand. Please pray for Emily, too. She's an eternal
optimist and the kind of woman who can do anything, but this is a real
trial.

The cancer has not spread elsewhere in his body, so after the surgery,
please pray that the chemo treatments work and the cancer never returns.
Obviously, from the estimated chances of survival I mentioned above, the
amputation is just the beginning of this trial.

I don't know what else to ask of you, but please pray for our dear friends.
God cares about us and He listens when we pray. We've walked through life
with Manish and Emily for the past seven years, since we moved to Pasadena.
We love them and they're going through an intense time of suffering, with
more to come. Manish was our first visitor at the hospital when Cody was
born, in Dec. 2004. I've attached a picture of Manish and Cody so you can
see who he is.

The incredible thing through all of this is that already God's glory is
evident in Manish and Emily's attitudes. They've only been dealing with this
a little more than a week, but Manish said he knows that God intends to use
this to teach him and help him grow. His attitude is bringing glory to God,
even in the midst of his grief and struggle. Manish was raised Hindu, and
many in his family are not followers of Jesus, so please pray that God would
also use Manish and Emily to draw them to salvation.

I confess that I often am consumed with the day-to-day drama and
trivialities life because I'm so self-consumed. It's a real struggle to
hunger continually for a God-centered perspective. Times like these make me
yearn for heaven. It's truly our only hope when we fully understand the
depths of suffering here on earth. Perhaps God will also use this to waken
me from my small-minded perspective and give me a greater hunger for His
purpose and Kingdom.

I do hope you all are well and thank you for praying for our friends!


Grace and peace,

Marshall

Freaks and Geeks

This will take a minute to load, but check out this show--I've illegally downloaded, compressed and posted it here.

This is all because Kyle and Amie were bashing Freaks and Geeks but I think the show deserves mad props, and should have stayed around for years!

Much love to my homies.
Sorry for the randomness.
-c

My friend Medi...the rockstar.

I'm excited to brag about my friend Medi who's upcoming project (*shels) is creating lot's of buzz and just got all kinds of kudos in rocksound magazine. The music is well deserving of mad props, and I'll give you my own take very soon (as soon as I get to finish listening to all this goodness)!

Here is the props from rocksound, and look below for the *shels myspace page.

For more checkout: myspace.com/shels.

have you ever?

Have you ever been to Vegas?
Have you ever spent all day setting up a stupid booth at a trade show?
Have you ever had a dinner where you're schmoozing all the different music producers that you represent? and then you drink a lot when you're with them? cause you want them to have a good time? cause you want them to like you? so they stay with you as their US sub-publisher? and then afterwords you go the casino (Paris) and you gamble with them? and you let them buy you drinks? and you let the waitress bring you free drinks? only the drinks aren't really free because you actually just lost $45 on a video poker machine? and then you lost another $20 cause you bet on black when red had hit 4x in a row, but wouldn't you know it...red hit again...for the 5th time in a row? so now you're free beer cost $65? and then you came back to your hotel room at like 1am and you are drunk? and then you decide to get on your blog? in stead of going to sleep? because you think that people actually want to read this shit? because you're a narcissist? but you don't know how to spell that word? and you really have to get to sleep? because you have to be at the booth at 8:30am? and then stand there all day and talk to people and give them free swag? so that you can make money?

have you ever done that?

it's crazy huh?

I'm really proud of...

this.

Tell me what you think? And if you want to start contributing to the site I'd LOVE that!
-c

rockworms album review: Brother Ali "The Undisputed Truth"

Is white-bread-rap-rock a bonafide genre? Or maybe we'll go along with Rhapsody's genre grouping: "the mid-west basement." Either way, Brother Ali is bringing old school thought provoking hip-hop flavor straight out of...Minneapolis?

Surprising as it may seem, he's not alone--the corn growing, walleye fishing, snow covered Midwest has birthed several rhymers (Atmosphere, P.o.s., Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Common, etc) who bring lyrics back into the game, and (thank God) have for the most part abandoned the "bitches and hoes" or "shoot 'em up" raps that have bombarded us from both coasts for the last decade.

Brother Ali is a talented rapper, and his instrumentals are a nice mix of old school sampling, new school electronica beats, and straight up real instruments (some cool guitar riffs on "Whatcha' Got, reminded me of the Aerosmith/Run DMC mash up of "Walk This Way").

The new Album "The Undisputed Truth" (Rhymsayers Records) comes out today. While I had heard the single "The Truth Is" played on the current (my local favorite station) I found myself tapping my toes along to the rest of the album as well. I can't say that this album is going to be a hit up in the club, but that's not where he's aiming. If chillin out, kickin it old school, stream of consciousness rhymes are your deal, than check out Brother Ali.

(this is on the front page of rockworms.com)

Wanted: writers who love to rock!

Hey, so ummm...have you ever been to rockworms.com? Cause that's a little website Kyle and I have cooked up, and we're hoping to find a few friends who could start sharing their thoughts on all things music.

Whether it's writing a review of the newest albums coming out, some juicy music news, explaining why ___(insert favorite band here)____ is the best thing since Elvis, or even just asking questions when you want to know what other people think.


If you're interested, drop me a line at: craig@rockworms.com. Or if you're not, than go tell your friends who might be. If you don't have any friends that might be, go find a bearded, hippie, slack-rope-walking, minstrel that plays guitar and sings on the sidewalk. He'll be interested for sure!

Cuddle Time!

Me and my girls are going to take a nap. Catch yah later...

Colon Blow!

Ok, so the fam. has embarked on a "Family Fun Weight Loss" competition. Yeah, Amy and me, with Christy (sis) and Will (bro-in-law). Are in a competition against mama and papa key to loose weight.

I went in for my official weigh in last night and I weighed a substantial 205lbs. I'm pretty sure that's the heaviest I've ever been. I'd really like to get back down to 180--but we'll see how committed I am. If nothing else I want to avoid going and buying some fat pants...cause i'm just about there!

So anyway, part of Amy and my plan is to jump start the whole thing with a "colon cleanse." (have you ever typed those words into a google image search? here. I did it for you. you're welcome). So yeah, i took 4 of these huge "Super Colon Cleanse" pills with my lunch today, and now I'm just sort of waiting to see what happens.

I'll be sure to keep you posted...cause i'm sure you want to know!
-ck

track review: "again and again" by the bird and the bee

The latest tune at the top of "my jams" (on the right side) is "Again and Again" by The Bird and The Bee.

Inara George's voice is soft but infectious--sort of bjork-ish but less weird. The song starts with a wurly that sounds equally addictive, and ads other synths, pads, and what not that all groove around a drum machine that makes you stomp your feet.

I've listened to the song 5 times now and I can't say I can remember any of the lyrics other than "again and again" and I can't say that I care. I still want to listen again. This post-rock duo seems to be furthering the minimalist-synthy-dancey-groovy movement (that phrase copyright yours truly, 2007). The sound is somewhere in between the shins and zero 7--and would feel right at home on the Garden State soundtrack.

Give 'em a spin. You promise to listen, and I'll promise to get better at writing reviews. Deal?

This will get posted at rockworms.com

How Funny Is This?

Dirty Vegas.

Hey y'all... I'll be in vegas the 3rd week of april for work, and amy is flying out on thurs. The 18th so we can hang for the weekend. I know vegas isn't the ideal 'hey let's catch up because we haven't seen each other for a while' place, but hey...for those of you in la, we're only 3 hours away and we'd love to see you! ok. That's all i've got. Oh, and i found my phone, which is why you are blessed with tip very attractive picture of yours truly. Love you. -ck

Music Music Music

SXSW (south by southwest) was this weekend in Austin. I really think I want to go to that soon. If not next year, than certainly the year after that. Austin is such a cool town, there is literally live music going on all night every night up and down 6th st (or is it 8th?).

Anywho, the point of this little ditty is to say that I'd like to start blogging about music more. It seems I'm a bit lazy as far as finding new bands, but I'm in "the industry" (laugh), and I call myself a musician...I'm even scheming on a little indie music forum with Kyle F...so why don't I ever talk about it?

So here's a free gift...for those who don't know:

the current (minneapolis)
kexp (seattle)

I stream them both for free...which works out pretty good since they don't have commercials. I'll also give credit to drive 105 fm (minneapolis) even though they're an ABC radio station, they really make it feel indie, and they're not afraid to play new stuff.

Does anyone else have something to share?

Also, check "my jams" over there to your right. I promise to update those at least once a month to show off some new favs.

It's been a while....

I've been told my blog is so "random." Since that's already the case, I figure why change it? So this blog is about as random as it gets.

1) Well we've had some serious drama in our lives over the last week. Amy's wedding ring was stolen at gunpoint! (if you want to know more, you're gonna have to click) So that pretty much sucked.

2) In other news, I was in LA all last week Sun-Sat, for a very good, but very tiring work trip. It was definitely good to see everybody in the office and get re-charged so I don't feel like I'm all alone out here...but I also crammed my schedule about as full as it gets so that at every lunch, dinner, and late night I had to be somewhere to see someone (by the way, it was great to see all of you, and those of you that I didn't see...I beg your pardon, my week was already crazy as it were). I thought I'd write some clever blog while I was there, saying how much I was soaking up the sun and stuff...but alas, I did not.

3) Now onto the real randomness. I decided to take a couple of my paintings out back and snap a pic of them (where's Alan when I need him?) for "posterity"'s sake. So yeah, here they are. I painted these my last year of college, and I'm proud of them. So suck on it.

You can click the pic's for a closer look.Monochrome assignment
Only allowed one color (I chose red) plus black and white for shading.
Acrylic on Paper.

Final Project

This was about a week before I graduated. I already had a job lined up...and I was scared. And yes, I may have embellished a bit on those biceps.
Acrylic on Cardboard (sorry for the glare)

Snow Day: Part Deux

Snow Day!

The backyard:

Amy got to come home early today due to the "Blizzard like" conditions here :). I on the other hand, will still be working the whole day--it would be tough to pull off the "I just don't think it's safe" bit in talking about my commute from the bedroom to the basement.

I snapped some pics and thought I'd share 'em. Those of you who live here are wondering why I would post this--but keep in mind, it's been a while for me.

Those of you who don't live here are thinking how beautiful it is...and how glad you are that you aren't here. And I don't blame you--I don't own a snowblower, and it wasn't fun shoveling the snow so that the bank is now over my head. And it needs it again!

Without further adieu...To the left, to the left...

This was taken a couple hours ago, the snow is now above the picnic bench.

Right side...

Just try and tell me she's not cute--go ahead TRY IT! Alan? Try it!

html? java? c++?

is anyone a good programmer? i need that right now.
ps: check out my new jam: "Rebirth of Slick" by Digable Planets. Do you remember that tune? Cause I don't.
;)